The present invention relates generally to electrical power supply management and more particularly to a system and method for dynamic and distributed control in an isolated distribution grid.
Conventional electrical utility service has some reserve capacity available for interim peak demand periods. However, at times, the power demand may exceed the generation, transmission, or distribution capacity of electric utility companies. Load shedding may be scheduled or may be performed with little notice. Customers may employ emergency generators to ensure continuous power to critical loads.
Remote or off-grid power and distribution of the same may be desirable for multiple situations other than load shedding by the utility provider. Emergency power may be needed during, for example, natural disasters. Power to a remote area may be desired where transmission and/or distributions lines are non-existent or have insufficient capacity. Remote generators can supply power not only for emergency or temporary conditions but may even become a long term power source.
Power control systems are often designed into large facility power systems, however, the different components connecting into the power system may vary in design and manufacturer. In turn, the components may use different communication protocols, making communication expensive or unfeasible.
In simple conventional portable situations variable output of smaller generators may not be an option, with many having essentially two states, on and off. Optimizing the utilization of generated power may not be possible and since generators are often oversized to the load they are servicing, excess generation may not be stored and may go unused. It would be desirable to increase the system efficiency powered by one or more of these all or none generators by maintaining demand near generation output.
In some situations, it can become difficult to track the loading on a given generator. It may be challenging to keep an account of the ampere load on the distribution line or lines between the generator and respective loads. Loads may tie into the generator at locations remote from the generator, a means for tracking and managing remote loads may be needed to prevent overload conditions. Interim and cyclic loads also add to the challenge of providing adequate power generation and distribution capacity without excessive losses from unused capacity. There may be multiple customers or persons with access to the generation power and distribution lines who can add and subtract loads from the local power system at unscheduled times.
It would be desirable to afford the users the ability to modify the loading configuration on a generator or generators and automatically adjust the power distribution to accommodate the load changes with available generation capacity. It may be desirable for security or other reasons to provide a power generation and distribution system with distributed control, such that the loss of any one unit would not compromise the remaining power system.